In Support of the Facts - Palamida's GPLv3 Statistics

Noah Clements of Sidley Austin LLP recently posted a blog questioning Palamida's GPLv3 conversion numbers. Healthy debate is a sign of an involved and engaged community and therefore I felt it was important to respond directly to the points Noah makes to clarify key statements.

The inclusion of statistics specific to "GPL, or later" clauses on Palamida's GPLv3 site is intended to provide an indication of the current and future support for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the variants of the existing GPL licenses. By providing statistics on which licenses now include the "GPLv2 or later" clause and which are moving that direction, Palamida is in no way stating that these projects are to be considered actual conversions to the GPLv3 or LGPLv3 licenses.

Palamida's research team takes the responsibility of reporting accurate and detailed information very seriously and we work overtime to provide timely data regarding licensing issues, adoption of specific licenses, and their unique considerations such as the "or later" clause that leaves the license decision up to the individual user. We feel that the scope of this information is an important indicator of the OSS community's reaction to the new GPLv3 license. As Palamida continues to refine our site and enhance our data, we invite feedback and participation from our users, and in fact, require it in order to effectively improve upon how we deliver our content.
In the event that any of the information we provide lacks clarity, or as Noah feels, accuracy, we encourage users to contact us with their concerns and we will work to ensure that our reporting is made more clear in the future.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding the GPLv3 and OSS licensing related data, please feel free to contact me directly at ernest.park@palamida.com.
--Ernie Park